February 2017 Nebo PEAK Award Winners

Submitted by lana.hiskey on

THE PEAK AWARD CUSTOMER SERVICE PROGRAM

Nebo School District wants to showcase our Positive Energy and Kind employees. PEAK Awards are nominated by patrons and recognized by the Superintendent Staff and Nebo School Board of Education. The award is administered by the Communications and Community Relations Department. 

Keith Bellows, Custodian, Springville Junior
Nominated by: Brent Taylor, Brenda Bales
“I am the recreation photographer for Springville City. I had a wonderful experience with your custodian last night. He was so accommodating to help me get to where I needed to be, unlocking the gates and unlocking doors, making sure an old man like me didn't have to carry my gear too far.”

“Keith is one of the happiest people I know. He laughs and whistles wherever I see him. He is a great example to those that work for him.”

Mary Joy Dekker, Teacher, Rees Elementary
Nominated by: Adam Gull, Lynn Adams
“Mary Joy goes out of her way to provide service to her students and faculty. Recently, one of her former students who had left the district, returned to the school. This student had difficult behaviors and required extra attention by his teacher and members of the school team. Even though this student was technically no longer Mary Joy's ‘responsibility’, she has been instrumental in helping the team develop and implement a school-wide intervention to help him be successful. She took the time to summarize a massive amount of information and work about him when he was in her class, which in turn saved the school team a lot of time and energy. As part of that team, I was grateful for her invaluable assistance. She provides amazing service to her own students.”

“Mary Joy goes above and beyond the call of duty. She puts in overtime hours in her assignment as the DART representative. She makes learning fun by dressing in character when teaching specific reading strategies. She shows excitement in everything she does from teaching, assemblies, and dressing up for Halloween.”

Zach Hanks, IT Technician, Hobble Creek & Meadow Brook Elementarys
Nominated by: Linda Baird, Ryan Pitcher
“Zack responds quickly, within an hour, when we send out a request for something to be done. He takes care of things early in the morning and even late in the day. None of our questions are dumb questions. He works the hardest of all the IT personnel I know.”

“Zack is amazing!! He has the ability to fix any technical issue that comes around, and his ability to communicate with teachers and staff is legendary! As soon as a work order is put in, he communicates to the teacher that he has seen the job and has a plan to fix it. I have never had a district computer technician do such an amazing job as quickly as Zack. He even sends follow-up emails to confirm that the technology is still working correctly. We love having Zack at Meadow Brook Elementary.”

Blake Mortensen, Dean of Students, Payson Junior
Nominated by: Julie Carlisle, Alesha LeMmon, John Plaisted, Rachel White, Laurel Spencer
“Blake is solid and consistent every day and in every way. The students like and respect him. He shows great kindness and respect for all. When students need help, they come to the office and ask, ‘Where's Morty?’. They know he will answer their questions and go out of his way to find solutions. Blake will jump in to teach a class while waiting for a substitute teacher, help new students open their lockers, and teach teachers about PGP and SLO goals. Blake is always ready to help to improve the school in any way he can.”

“Blake is a ‘work horse’. He comes to work every day with a smile on his face and ready to tackle any problem that comes his way. He is always calm and rational. The students often go to him for advice and know that they will be treated fairly. He handles discipline problems in a timely and consistent manner. He can discipline a student and retain a good relationship with the student and parent at the same time.”

Heidi Dimmick, Teacher, Spanish Oaks Elementary
Nominated by: Jenna Lambert, McKensie Bellomy, Chrissie Robinson, Carolyn Aagard
“From my first experiences with Heidi Dimmick, I felt that she was a magician in the area of collaboration. She has pulled so many educational miracles out of her hat. All members of our team were consulted and listened to. She meets people where they are, accepts them, serves them, and helps them along their way. She advocates for the members of the entire team."

“Heidi is a trend-setter. She pioneered the use of technology with parents, teachers and students on our team. She has helped with a new keyboarding program and pulled together amazing units on indigenous peoples, poetry, and persuasive writing. Heidi believes in students that require extra counsel and patience, giving them the guidance and support they need. She recorded the voices of every third-grade student for our hour-long Christmas program so the show could go on."

“Heidi shares her strategies, organizational abilities via curriculum maps and schedules, her insights about students and procedures, and her wisdom and wit. She's in the trenches with the rest of us, but also on the hill directing the educational battle so that we know what's coming and how to be prepared to best deal with it. Besides her considerable responsibilities in getting her masters' degree and technology endorsement, she serves as team leader and on other school committees. When you're under pressure to punch and bind a stack of papers, Heidi puts her projects on hold, grabs the handle of the binding machine and starts punching."

“Heidi is willing to invite other teachers into her room to share her materials and strategies. For example, the entire second- and third-grade teams will be in her room on Monday watching her guided reading techniques. She spent hours designing a creative poetry unit and then willingly posted it for the rest of the team to use as they saw fit. She didn't charge a dime for all her extra effort."

“Heidi Dimmick loves learning and people and it shows in everything she does. I count it an honor to work with and learn from her. She's more than a magician...she's a miracle worker.”

“Heidi is always excited about something she is teaching that day and is very positive when speaking about students and their potential. She is very energetic and loves teaching.”

“Heidi always shows that each of her students matter. She is an incredible coworker who is willing to help out no matter what.”

“Heidi is an amazing teacher who is able to make everyone of her students feel special and that they matter. She was able to take a group of kids that others had struggled with and made them feel that they were worth it. Heidi also does this with her coworkers. She makes sure that everyone is taken care of. She goes above and beyond to help anyone who needs it. Sometimes you don't even need to ask her for this help, she just knows when she is needed. I feel so blessed that I get to work with Heidi. She brings so much joy to our school.”

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
This initiative is designed to focus on "raising the bar" on providing exceptional customer service, both internally and externally. A key component of this initiative is the development of the PEAK Award. The PEAK (Positive Energy and Kindness) Award is presented monthly to someone in the Nebo School District who "really gets it" when it comes to providing exceptional customer service, which in turn results in positive impacts on everyone including students, parents, co-workers and members of the community.

Who Gets Nominated?
Faculty and staff members are nominated by anyone in the community through the Nebo School District website, www.nebo.edu/PEAK wherein a special Customer Service link is provided. The directions as to how to nominate an employee for the PEAK Awards are clearly spelled out on the site. All nominations must include information on how the individual has provided exceptional customer service, as well as how the employee's actions impacted the nominator's overall perception of Nebo School District Schools. The name and contact information of the nominator must be included.

Attributions
Lana Hiskey